"The parochial snobbery of
these people was partly responsible for their failure to convert the Indians.
Probably they also preferred to take land from heathens rather than from fellow
Christians. At any rate, very few Indians were converted, and the Salem folk believed that
the virgin forest was the Devil’s last preserve, his home base and the citadel
of his final stand. To the best of their knowledge the American forest was the
last place on earth that was not paying homage to God" (Miller 5). “The Crucible” was written by Arthur
Miller. Miller is showing us a line that
separates the goodness of God and the evilness of the Devil. The town is the image of God and all the
blessings he has given us. Once you pass
the forest line, you enter the Devil’s territory. He states that the forest, Indians, and
anything that lies in the forest is considered the Devil’s “home base.” “Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God” is a
sermon that is preached by Jonathan Edwards.
Jonathan spends his sermon yelling at the congregation that their lives
are all one big sin. “Sin is the ruin
and misery of the soul; it is destructive in its nature; and if God should
leave it without restraint, there would need nothing else to make the soul
perfectly miserable” (Select). He reprimands them for not trying harder to
live up to God’s expectations.
“The Crucible” is a play about a
town of Puritans
who are trying to do the right thing.
What they believe is right is a lot different than the actual definition
of right. The definition of right is “in accordance with what is good, proper, or just” (Right). The townspeople assume that there are witches
that are taking over their minds and bodies.
They want the witchery to stop so they are going to try and act more on
God’s word. To try and stop the witchery
meant that they would blame and lie to each other. Even the reverends have turned to lying. “I have sought a Christian way, for damnation’s
doubled on a minister who counsels men to lie” (Miller 132). Reverend Hale is the one who said this
line. People look up to him and
religious figures, so when they lie, people think it is right for them to
also. This act is tearing apart
families, almost everyone has turned to lying, and the worst of it is that many
innocent lives have been taken. "Life,
woman, life is God's most precious gift; no principle, however glorious, may
justify the taking of it (Miller 132).
Like Miller said, life is a gift from God and we shouldn’t take
advantage of it. Jesus died on the cross
so we could live and be free of our sins.
In “Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God” Edwards wants the people to
see that they are living their lives incorrectly and that they should make
changes so that they can fulfill God’s expectations. If we do not make changes, we will have to
deal with the fiery consequences of the Devil.
Both of these works of art have similar
qualities. The main similarity I found
was that they each drew a distinct line between God and the Devil. The forest, Indians and witchcraft are results
of the Devil, while the people of the town are God’s masterpieces. On the other hand, Jonathan put the lives of
everyone on under the Devil and the level of Jesus under God. Both authors have different perspectives but
I don’t believe that either one of them had the right idea. People should try hard to make following God’s
word a life goal. Being on God’s side is
where you want to be.
Miller, Arthur. The Crucible. New York , NY
"Right." Dictionary.com. Dictionary.com, n.d. Web. 17 Sept. 2012.
"Select
Sermons." - Christian Classics Ethereal
Library. N.p., n.d. Web.
17 Sept. 2012.
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